Tag Archives: Travel

When we were planning our trip to Europe, and Paris in particular, I had reached out on Facebook asking if anyone had any recommendations of something we should do while we were there. One of my friends suggested hiring Stacy Reeves from L’Amour de Paris to take some photos of Kyle and I. I wasn’t sure at first, I looked at the pricing, timing and everything else and still was unsure. I started to follow Stacy on Instagram and instantly fell in love with her photos. They were picture perfect – like on the cover of a bridal magazine perfect. So finally, I made the leap and hired Stacy to capture a few moments of our trip to Paris and I don’t regret doing it at ALL! It was the best thing we paid for while on vacation. So since a picture is worth a thousand words – I won’t explain anymore – instead I’ll just share with you a handful of my favorites from our TWENTY MINUTE session (yes, she is that good!).

So what do you think? I’m so happy with them and I can not wait to get a few of them up on our walls. Now to just pick which ones! If you are planning on traveling to Paris and want to capture some similar pictures, you really have to check out Stacy and L’Amour de Paris. You won’t be disappointed.

I’m Back! I have so many photos and thoughts to share with you from our European Vacation – that I don’t even know where to start. So instead of just dumping 100 photos into a post, I decided to give everyone a peek into our trip, as well as some travel tips for when YOU get to visit these places yourself!

Of all the places we went, Venice is the place I would tell you that you HAVE to go! My grandfather was right when he told me that Venice is the one place in the world you HAVE to visit! So to start off my posts, here are 8 Must See Spots in Venice, Italy!

Vaporetto Ride up and down the Grand Canal

If you are like most visitors, you are flying into Venice from somewhere else in Europe. If you are flying in – the Venice airport is very small but very easy to get out of and to the main area of Venice. Once you are out of the airport, follow the path to the Vaporetto / Alilunga Orange Line to the Grand Canal in Venice itself. This line will bring you all the way through the grand canal giving you a great first look at the city of Venice! We stayed at a hotel right on the Grand Canal and I would recommend you do the same! You can take a Gondola ride as well, but we passed on this as it’s very expensive.

St. Marks Square

St. Mark’s Square is what you will always see when reading or watching something about Venice. It’s the main square at the “end” of the Grand Canal and many tourists can get stuck in this area and never experience the rest of the Venice. No matter what time of year you go – this area will be busy, it will have the most street carts selling souvenirs and touristy restaurants. Make sure you visit as it’s a great sight to see with many important buildings, but make sure you take the time to explore the rest of Venice too!

St. Marks Basillica

St. Marks Basillica is located in St. Marks Square and is a sight to see. The outside is amazing looking, but just wait until you walk inside and look up. The golden mosaics cover the whole inside of the building and are quite amazing! You can go in for free, but if you want to go up to the over look area and museum (which I recommend) there is a charge of 5 Euros per person. Here is a view from the balcony on top of the Basillica.

Doges Palace & the Bridge of Sighs

Doges Palace is located right next to St. Marks Basilica and we visited right after our visit to the Basilica. None of these attractions take the whole day, so if you have a limited amount of time in Venice, you can easily hit quite a few in one day! Time saver tip: If there is a long line to get in – go across the square to the Museum Correr and buy a combo ticket – this will get you into that museum as well as the Palace and allow you to skip the ticket line at the palace. The museum is some-what interesting, and for “free” it is good to look through, but if you are tight on time – you could skip it and head straight to Doges Palace!

Frari Church

This church is a little hard to find – as it is set back from the Grand Canal but feel free to get lost along the way – it will be worth it! The church itself is a traditional large nave church and has some amazing and different sculptures. The Rick Steve’s self-guided tour helped us out a lot in this church! You can’t take pictures in this church, but the whole area around the church is great too!

Rialto Bridge

To me, the Rialto Bridge was a bit underwhelming. It is lined with touristy shops, people selling “selfie-sticks” and pick pockets (be careful!) – but the view is gorgeous from the bridge – so if nothing else, go for the view and pick up a few souvenirs for your family back home!

Getting Lost in the Back Canals – The #1 thing you have to do in Venice is just roam around and get lost! Getting lost in a city that is foreign sounds pretty unsettling but trust me, once you are there – you will find that it isn’t at all scary, it is a safe city and its so small that you will eventually end up back at the grand canal with the ability to find yourself on a map and get back to your hotel! If you are tired of walking by that time, hop on the Vaparetto! We got lost many times – and one of the times (when trying to find Frari church) was one of the best walks we had in Venice. We winded back and forth through some very residential areas of Venice, seeing how “everyday life” was. When we hit the grand canal again, we were right across from the train station and another beautiful bridge. We hit areas on our walk that we would never of seen if we hadn’t gotten lost and I’m glad we did get lost! Pick a direction, make a few turns and just go for it! When in doubt, ask someone to point you in the direction of the grand canal or st. marks square!

We will be traveling for just under 2 weeks. We will miss our little princess, Lennox, so very much – but we are also very excited to have a mommy/daddy break and go experience all that we can while on vacation! Lennox will be having lots of fun at home with Grandma & Papa and the hardest part is that we won’t get to talk with her – but I know we’ll get plenty of updates along the way!

We are visiting Venice, one of my top destinations ever(!), Paris (also close to the top of my list) and the top of Kyle’s list, London!

VENICE, ITALY

I think Venice is going to be one of the most unique places we have ever traveled and will travel.

Photo Credit: Venice – Canareggio by MorBCN, on Flickr

There is no where else in the world that is like Venice. I can’t wait to see the sun hit the colorful buildings, the gondolas going by, watch the way the people of Venice live! The best quote I have read about Venice, was that if you don’t get lost – you haven’t experienced Venice! I look forward to getting lost!

PARIS, FRANCE

Paris! The city of lights. The architecture, the landmarks, the style, the food – everything about Paris sounds exciting to me.

Photo Credit: Opera puddle mirror by Loïc Lagarde, on Flickr

We honestly don’t know the majority of what Paris has to offer – but we are going to be experiencing it all! I’m looking forward to seeing and feeling what it’s like to be staying in Paris. We decided to forgo a hotel in Paris and get a flat, in the heart of the city (close to the Louvre). We are staying on one of the oldest streets in Paris in a small studio flat. We’ll be across the street from a fresh fruit market, a bakery and an old Louis XIV royal fountain! We’ll see what one of the most romantic cities in the world has to offer us!

LONDON, ENGLAND

London – My favorite place I have ever been! I was lucky enough to visit London and the UK 3 times as a teenager with my parents.

Photo Credit: Westminster by Hernán Piñera, on Flickr

I don’t know what it is about London but I just love it. The big city, the people, the sights, the sounds (read: the accents) and just the ease of the city! I look forward to bringing Kyle to the Tower of London – one of the best spots in London and walking down the bustling Portobello Road Market in Nottinghill on Saturday morning!

While I’m gone….

While I’m gone – make sure to pay attention to my Facebook Page, as I will be sharing a bunch of travel related posts, as well as some fun posts from a few of my blogger buddies!

When I can (at night in the hotel most likely) I’m sure I’ll be sharing a few photos from the day on Instagram – so follow me there as well! I’ll be trying to remember to use #TerrellsTravel on all my photos I share. Here is the latest stream:

Once we are back in the US – expect lots of great photos, memories and stories about our trip!